WESTLAND (WWJ) A Westland man is charged with First Degree Murder and other felonies in connection with shooting and killing his grandmother, then setting their home on fire.
Wayne County prosecutors said Donovan Laverty, 33, shot Sandra Stanton in the head and killed her. The shooting occurred at the home they shared on Calumet Court, in the area of Venoy and Michigan Avenue, on Wednesday, November 11 at approximately 10 a.m.
According to prosecutors, he also poured accelerant on boxes and lit a fire.
The Westland Fire Department extinguished the flames. Medics rushed Stanton, 79, to the hospital, where she was pronounced dead.
Police arrested Laverty at the scene.
The circumstances leading to and a motive for the shooting have not been released.
He was arraigned in 36th District Court on Saturday, November 14. Wayne County Prosecutor Kym Worthy charged him with one count of First-Degree Premeditated Murder, one count of Second-Degree Arson, one count of Discharge of a Firearm in a Building and two counts of Felony Firearm. The judge remanded him to jail.
He is due back in court for a Probable Cause Conference on November 25 and a Preliminary Exam on December 3.
"Domestic violence is one of the most serious crimes," Worthy said in a statement. "...It is hard to protect yourself from the murderer that lives in the house with you."
